Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2021-324

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Reference: Part 1 application posted on 28 July 2021

Ottawa, 17 September 2021

CKUA Radio Foundation
Edmonton and Drumheller, Alberta

Public record for this application: 2021-0506-4

CKUA-FM Edmonton and its transmitter CKUA-FM-13 Drumheller – Technical changes

  1. The Commission has the authority, pursuant to subsection 9(1) of the Broadcasting Act (the Act), to issue licences for such terms not exceeding seven years and subject to such conditions related to the circumstances of the licensee as the Commission deems appropriate for the implementation of the broadcasting policy set out in subsection 3(1) of the Act, as well as to amend those conditions on application of the licensee.
  2. Consistent with this authority, the Commission approves the application by CKUA Radio Foundation (CKUA Radio) to change the authorized contours of CKUA-FM-13 Drumheller, Alberta, a rebroadcasting transmitter of the English-language radio programming undertaking CKUA-FM Edmonton, Alberta, by changing the transmitter’s class from C to B1, decreasing the effective radiated power from 22,000 to 12,000 watts, decreasing the effective height of the antenna above average terrain from 300.3 to 221.9 metres, and amending the existing coordinates of the transmitter site. All other technical parameters will remain unchanged. The Commission did not receive any interventions in regard to this application.
  3. When requesting technical changes, licensees are generally required to demonstrate a technical or economic need justifying the changes. In regard to the present case, CKUA Radio noted that Bell Media Inc., owner of the transmitter tower, would be decommissioning the transmitter site in summer 2021, and that the current 40-year-old transmitter is not in good enough condition to relocate. The licensee submitted that the requested technical changes constitute the best course of action to maintain service in the Drumheller region. In this regard, it stated that the location of the tower was chosen to ensure maximum population coverage in the area – a rural region that, for the most part, is sparsely populated with the exception of three small population centres. In CKUA Radio’s view, of all options considered, the proposed technical changes would be the most financially and technically beneficial to the station.
  4. The Commission is satisfied that the licensee has demonstrated a technical need for the requested technical changes.
  5. Pursuant to subsection 22(1) of the Act, this authority will be effective only when the Department of Industry notifies the Commission that its technical requirements have been met and that a broadcasting certificate will be issued.
  6. The licensee must implement the technical changes by no later than 17 September 2023. To request an extension, the licensee must submit a written request to the Commission at least 60 days before that date, using the form available on the Commission’s website.
  7. As set out in section 16 of the Radio Regulations, 1986 (the Regulations), licensees have obligations relating to the broadcast of emergency alert messages received from the National Alert Aggregation and Dissemination System. In regard to the changes to CKUA-FM-13’s authorized contours approved in this decision, the Commission reminds the licensee that continued compliance with section 16 of the Regulations may require that any alert broadcast decoders (e.g., ENDEC) used for the purposes of broadcasting emergency alert messages on CKUA-FM, or on any rebroadcasting transmitters that may appear on the broadcasting licence for that station, be reprogrammed to properly account for the new authorized contours.

Non-compliance

  1. CKUA Radio appears to be in non-compliance with subsection 9(2) of the Regulations relating to the filing of complete annual returns for CKUA-FM, for the 2018-2019 and 2019-2020 broadcast years. The Commission will address this issue as part of the next licence renewal for the station.

Secretary General

This decision is to be appended to the licence.

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